Hey Girl, Thanks For Taking That 3AM Call

When Obama’s 3 am call came in, some say he hit the snooze button. Others claim Romney intercepted it. But we’re here to remind the world, as predicted by that infamous attack ad, Hillary answered it.

Throughout this past week and since the heinous attacks on U.S. Embassies that claimed the lives of 4 Americans including U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens, a drained Hillary Clinton continued to address our nation while attempting to calm the Muslim world — all the while taking ‘incoming’ and fierce criticism in the run up to the president’s re-election, not hers.

Those critics would be wise to remember Hillary’s hesitation to oust Mubarak in the early days of Egypt’s uprising [Read @PJCrowley’s piece in Daily Beast:Is Egypt an Ally of the U.S.?]. In fact Clinton, even as she carries out her duties with equal parts grace and fortitude, is seemingly less than comfortable doing the President’s bidding in the Middle East. Might it be because she’s been carrying this mighty load for the President while he maintains his inexplicably cavalier attitude and ‘Que Sera, Sera’ mid-east approach in the name of democracy?

It was Clinton who installed close friend and foreign service veteran Chris Stevens to mop up the post-Gaddafi spectacle in Libya. And it was also Clinton who warned of a post-Mubarak era of uncertainty. So as pundits pile on Hillary to discredit Obama’s foreign policy, it’s prudent to note, well, Hillary’s prudence throughout Obama’s presidency.

How would a hawkish Hillary have handled the Middle East?

No one knows. But this blog has been openly critical of Muslim Brotherhood via our Twitter feed, primarily because of Mus-Bro’s despicable history with women, not its religion. We knew then, as we know now, that an already fragile environment for women’s rights will be all but shattered and deemed collateral damage in Mus-Bro’s ‘New’ Egypt.

Besides, how can a revolution that gang-rapes an American female journalist be celebrated?

The astonishing and brutal sex attack on CBS correspondent Lara Logan in Tahrir Square just hours into Egypt’s jubilant celebration should have a been the first hint that President Obama’s “Kumbaya” experiment with an Islamified Egypt would not work. Sec. of State Clinton is keenly aware how delicate the Middle East is. But one has to ask: was Obama? Or even worse, does he care?

Certainly no one wants to return to the Bellicosity of the Bush era, but leaving Muslim Brotherhood in charge of Egypt and watching Tunisia, once moderate and the birthplace of the Arab Spring, descend into Islam on Viagra, one has to wonder: what is the President thinking?

In closing, this is not at all intended to be a political post. It’s a woman post. It’s too late for voters to ask: might Hillary have been a better President? Might they have questioned the Democratic Party’s railroading of its best-ever female candidate? Might an Obama-biased media have been derelict in duty and its role in diminishing Hillary Clinton’s foreign policy credentials?

It’s unfortunately that Hillary Rodham Clinton appears to be ending her tenure the way she started: holding the bag for Barack Obama. For hillary supporters, this comes as no surprise. Clinton’s break-neck work ethic and relentless patriotism found her logging more mileage than any of her predecessors. Imagine if her male boss worked that hard! But we digress.

Bottom line, if you don’t like Obama’s foreign policy, blame Obama not Hillary. But do remember that she did take that 3am call.

On behalf of all the women who fought so vociferously for Hillary Clinton in 2008, we continue to believe she would have worked toward a stronger, safer world, but more important, a back-to-working America. One can only hope, should another female candidate as formidable as Hillary Clinton run for president of the United States, that voters answer the call this time, and hire the heels!

Diane Mantouvalos is a Brand Strategist, Publicist and former Clinton Supporter. In the 2008 Presidential Election, she led and branded a disruptive movement against the media’s unfair treatment of Clinton, garnering dozens of interviews and appearances with – or has been quoted in – every major media outlet including Washington Post, Washington Times, The Guardian, Reuters, NY Daily News, NY Post, NY Times, AP, CNN, MSNBC, NPR, FOX, ABC, CBS and foreign media from Japan to Germany. Media experts credit the vocal movement with extending Clinton a ‘Black Card’ worth of political capital in negotiating her role as U.S. Secretary of State.

Diane Mantouvalos chats with Hillary Clinton during a presidential fundraiser at the home of former DNC Chair Terry McAullife